Announcements

New Pastor Update: Immanuel held a special Congregation Meeting and has elected to call to Rev. Crystal Larsen Stewart as our part-time pastor. She has accepted and is now with us as Pastor. Thanks be to God..!

Fourth Sunday of Easter: today’s April 30, 2023 service will be lead by Pr. Meg Brogan. We are ever joyful for her service among us. If you would like to join us in person, Immanuel is opening its doors for worship which will be either on Zoom or live streamed. A bulletin has been emailed to regular members, but our online visitors may also follow the zoom service online HERE as we worship together. It is also recommended that you either view or print the service order out to use as an easy reference throughout worship.

Outreach Ministry to the Homeless:    Thanks to all of our volunteers who helped prepare for our last Dine & Connect dinner on April 24th. We had 27 walk-up guests, served 148 total meals to them and those sheltering down at the encampments near the base. We give thanks and praise always to our Lord for giving us the ability here at Immanuel to serve the hungry, in conjunction with the Dine & Connect Steering Committee, which consists of organizations like Building Futures, The Love Center, The All Good Living Foundation, the greater Alameda Faith Community, and the City of Alameda, host monthly dinners for the homeless here in Alameda. The dinners are free and occur on the last Monday of the month here from the ILC Parish Hall. All dinners are dinners-to-go due to Covid-19 protocols. Our next dinner will be held on , Monday, May 29th from the new hours of 4 – 5pm. A limited number volunteers will be needed in all categories of hospitality from food prep to recycling & cleanup. Contact Terry for more information. There is a wonderful article in this weeks Synod Newsletter under Church Together found HERE. It is hoped and prayed for that this much needed ministry will be a small but important step in helping feed those who are hungry and un-sheltered.

Easter Flowers:

Donor In Memory/or Honor Of
Jeannette Bilstein     Memory of Tom Bilstein
Peter & Ruth Dow     Memory of our parents; Joyce Bryan; Paul Koski
Karen Wirth     Memory of Kristin Wirth, Marian Pedroarena, Barbara Jean Finney

All congregation members are welcome at Council meetings:  the next meeting will be on Thursday, May 11, 2023 on Zoom at 7PM. Call or email the church office to get the Zoom link to meetings.

CRECE: The CRECE executive board met via zoom yesterday (4/15) to approve a budget for the coming year. CRECE is a program for Central American Refugee East Bay, which includes some of the following activities:

A soccer program for 5-12 year old youth. We are presently searching for a new soccer field site to use for practice and games.

Development of a Father’s Group to educate about parenting, nutrition, financial literacy, and help finding resources for work and other needs. We need volunteers to teach about such subjects.

Increase food distribution to over 400 families at the Oakland and Alameda sites on alternating weeks.

Partner with Safe Passages on work with families and education.

Finance the Founder delivery trip , Tulio Serrano brings supplies and education to villages in El Salvador every year as a part of the non-profit organization CRECIENDO ELSALVADOR there. We hope to send a delegation with him this year as we did pre-Covid to help.

Provide toys and other gifts to over 600 children at our annual Christmas event.

Tulio Serrano, our beloved church custodian is the Founder and President of CRECE. CRECE especially thanks Immanuel Lutheran Church for providing office space and support to continue the work of helping Central American refugees in the East Bay. A special thank you is given to all in the ILC community today and always. God Bless.

Church Property Maintenance Needs: The tentative work day set for this weekend has been postponed until another date due to the rainstorms. A contractor will repair stairs and door of furnace room, remove shed that held old water heater and install a rail in the organ loft to comply with safety regulations. The Council is contacting roofers and painters for work on the church exterior. The following list indicates building tasks that remain to be done :

  • 1. Door closer in the office needs repair;
  • 2. Clean out gutters;
  • 3. Repair kitchen door to Parish Hall backyard;
  • 4. Sand, refinish a few kitchen cabinet doors in poor condition;
  • 5. Remove weeds behind kitchen/parish hall and neighbor with weed whacker;
  • 6. Fix women’s bathroom drain;
  • 7. Repair toilet seal leak in the Parish Hall men’s bathroom;
  • 8. Add “Private Property” signs per insurance company suggestion;
  • 9. Paint over Korean church sign on Santa Clara.
  • 10. repair Parish Hall main heater.
  • 11. repair the women’s bathroom window.
  • 12. repair the gas leak in the sanctuary tower.
  • 13. repair the newly found water leak under the kitchen.
  • 14. purchase a sump pump for the church sub-basement.
  • 15. replace the two damaged furnaces in the church sub-basement.
  • 16. new gas line to Parish Hall furnaces
  • 17. new Sanctuary roof replacement
  • 18. structural support for the Sanctuary east wall
  • 19. New roof and window/tower flashing’s for the Sanctuary
  • 20. Exterior patching, sealing and painting of the Sanctuary & Helen Room
  • 21. secure Sanctuary support beams to a new concrete foundation.
  • 22. tear down the old water heater closet and repair the outer wall
  • 23. construct a new stairway down to the church sub basement
  • 24. safety rail installation in the choir loft

Organ Repair:   Thanks to all who donated to the first phase of our Werner Bosch, Opus 353 organ repair. Pledges and donations for the remaining 4 phases will still be graciously accepted. This wonderful instrument was donated and installed in 1965 by the Roth family for just under $85,000. To replace an instrument of this caliber and quality in today’s market would be significantly over $500,000. For further information, please talk to our Music Director, Terry O’Connor, or any Council member.

“So do not fear,for I am with you; do not be dismayed , for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”  Isaiah 41:10

God remains close and grace always abounds.  We have only to reach out to God through prayer and to one another via chats, Facebook, phone calls, texts.

I invite you to use some of this time to spend time with God as we wait this virus out.  Spend time in prayer.  Talking with God.  Renewing the one relationship that will see you through.  And then remember, as you might be tempted to grab up all the toilet paper, that God loves your neighbor, too.   Leave supplies for others.  Spend time in prayer for them.  We all need each other.  We all need God.  We will make it through this time together.  

Amen.